Comparing James Thurber, Ernest Hemingway, And F. Scott Fitzgerald
Battle of the Sexes The battle of the sexes is a centuries old strife between the male and female populations. It is more often than not that modernist writers portray one of the sexes as superior to the other, and the opposite sex must prove themselves to their superior. Some of the modernist writers who demonstrate this battle in their writing include James Thurber, Earnest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. James Thurber is well known for his common theme of the battle of the sexes in his cartoons, short stories, and playwrights. In many of his pieces Thurber depicts an overbearing wife who is constantly tearing the husband down, or has most of the control in the relationship. In many cases, James Thurber identifies the male as the weak
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Earnest Hemingway demonstrates this side of the battle of the sexes in many different ways and in multiple pieces. Hemingway creates an image of a stereotypical woman who is seen, but not heard, and is dependent on the male figure. In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” the narration switches to multiple viewpoints, including a lion’s, but the woman never narrates the story. “Hills Like White Elephants” is just another example of a woman agreeing to a man’s wishes when it is clear that she does not want to do what he is asking of her. Also, Hemingway often uses hair color to represent the nature of the women he writes about. For example, the “dark women” are usually brunette, flawed human beings, but always pull through for the male character at the end, and the “light women” are typically blonde, angelic, but are deceptive. Finally, there is F. Scott Fitzgerald who allows both male and female characters to play the superior role. Although Fitzgerald’s writing doesn’t favor the male side or the female side of the argument, there is definitely a strong battle between the sexes in his work. In The Great Gatsby Tom Buchanan has power over his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Tom treats her poorly and beats her because Myrtle allows him to do so. Also, in the same book there is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy can make just about any man do as she wishes, especially Jay Gatsby, because she is in the superior
Earnest Hemingway demonstrates this side of the battle of the sexes in many different ways and in multiple pieces. Hemingway creates an image of a stereotypical woman who is seen, but not heard, and is dependent on the male figure. In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” the narration switches to multiple viewpoints, including a lion’s, but the woman never narrates the story. “Hills Like White Elephants” is just another example of a woman agreeing to a man’s wishes when it is clear that she does not want to do what he is asking of her. Also, Hemingway often uses hair color to represent the nature of the women he writes about. For example, the “dark women” are usually brunette, flawed human beings, but always pull through for the male character at the end, and the “light women” are typically blonde, angelic, but are deceptive. Finally, there is F. Scott Fitzgerald who allows both male and female characters to play the superior role. Although Fitzgerald’s writing doesn’t favor the male side or the female side of the argument, there is definitely a strong battle between the sexes in his work. In The Great Gatsby Tom Buchanan has power over his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Tom treats her poorly and beats her because Myrtle allows him to do so. Also, in the same book there is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy can make just about any man do as she wishes, especially Jay Gatsby, because she is in the superior